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Deviant Women: Female Invovlement in Terrorist Organizations

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Deviant Women: Female Invovlement in Terrorist Organizations DEVIANT WOMEN: FEMALE INVOVLEMENT IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS OLIVIA M. BIZOVI A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mercyhurst University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN APPLIED INTELLIGENCE RIDGE SCHOOL FOR INTELLIGENCE STUDIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA DECEMBER 2014 RIDGE SCHOOL FOR INTELLIGENCE STUDIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA DEVIANT WOMEN: FEMALE INVOLVEMENT IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mercyhurst University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN APPLIED INTELLIGENCE Submitted By: OLIVIA M. BIZOVI Certificate of Approval: ___________________________________ James G. Breckenridge, Ph.D Executive Director and Associate Professor The Ridge School of Intelligence Studies and Information Science ___________________________________ Orlandrew E. Danzell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor The Ridge School of Intelligence Studies and Information Science ___________________________________ Phillip J. Belfiore, Ph.D. Vice President Office of Academic Affairs DECEMBER 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Olivia M. Bizovi All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION For my loving family, I could not have done this without their unwavering support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. James Breckenridge for his continual support, counsel, and generation of ideas throughout this process. I would also like to thank Dr. Orlandrew Danzell for his assistance and advice in reviewing the draft and final version. Finally, I am indebted to my family and friends for their continual support through the entire process of pursuing my master’s degree. v ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Deviant Women: Female Involvement in Terrorist Organizations A Critical Examination By Olivia M. Bizovi Master of Science in Applied Intelligence Mercyhurst University, 2014 Professor James G. Breckenridge, Chair Traditionally, women are seen as the ‘fairer’ sex, reinforcing the notion that they are unlikely to commit violent acts. However, female involvement in terrorist organizations has been increasingly noted in media outlets and academia. These increases in frequency and scope of involvement elicit the question of whether or not female involvement is likely to increase in the next three to five years. This involvement is of notable concern for law enforcement and national security, since women are frequently not scrutinized as closely when it comes to screening for terrorist activity. A case study approach was taken to evaluate three United States designated terrorist organizations, Al-Qaeda, the Black Widows, and Hamas, that currently involve women in their operations as well as one group with female participants that is no longer in existence, the Tamil Tigers. This research examined both the variety of roles to which vi women are assigned as well as the demographic compositions of female recruits and operatives within each organization. The research found a wide range of demographics of female members as well as the increased notion that terrorist groups can use women as a surprise; increasing both their tactical and strategic advantages and making their operations more successful than they may be with male operatives. Additionally, recent media coverage has indicated an increased number of women involved in suicide bombings and the formation of their own brigade within established terrorist organizations. The notable success terrorist organizations have with female members indicates a likelihood that they will continue to employ female members over the next three to five years. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………… viii LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………..... x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………......... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………. 1 Introduction to the Problem…………………………………………….. 1 Background of the Problem ……………………………………………. 2 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………..... 4 Purpose of the Study………………………………………..................... 4 Research Questions……………………………………………………... 4 Definitions of Terms…………………………….……………………… 5 Nature of the Study……………………………………………………... 6 Relevance and Significance of the Study……………………………….. 6 Assumptions and Limitations………………………………...…………. 6 Organization of the Study………………………………………….…… 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………….. 8 Introduction to the Literature Review…………………………………... 8 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………. 9 Review of the Research Literature……………………………………… 11 Review of the Methodological Literature………………………………. 30 Chapter 2 Summary…………………………………………………….. 30 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………… 32 Introduction……………………………………………………………... 32 Case Study……………………………………………………………… 32 Case Selection Criteria………………………………………….……… 33 Structured, Focus Comparison…………………………………….…... 33 Limitations of the Research Design………………………………..…… 34 viii Ethical Issues…………………………………………………………… 34 Chapter 3 Summary…………………………………………………..… 34 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS……………………………………………………..… 36 Introduction……………………………………………………………... 36 Case Study One: Al-Qaeda…………………………………………….. 36 Case Study Two: The Black Widows………………………………….. 40 Case Study Three: Hamas…………………………………..………….. 43 Case Study Four: The Tamil Tigers…………………………………..... 46 Chapter 4 Summary…………………………………………………….. 50 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………... 52 Introduction……………………………………………………………... 52 Summary of the Study………………………………………………….. 52 Discussion of the Findings……………………………………………… 53 Implications for Practice………………………………………………... 56 Recommendations for Further Research………………………………... 57 Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 58 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………...... 60 ix LIST OF TABLES Page Table 4.1 Case Study Results 51 Table 5.1 Summary Chart 53 x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AQ Al-Qaeda AQI Al-Qaeda in Iraq HAMAS Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Revolution) ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and Syria JI Jemaah Islamiyah LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam PLO Palestinian Liberation Organization RAF Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Gang) RB Red Brigades xi 1 INTRODUCTION “The key awareness is of being a double victim, with oppression having to be fought on two fronts. In that light it is perhaps more surprising -- and this is the view many criminologists and psychiatrists -- that more women are not violent. They certainly seem to have more to be angry about.” MacDonald, 1991, p. 232 Introduction to the Problem Cragin & Daly (2009) note that “since the advent of modern terrorism in 1968, women have played a small but expanding role in terrorist organizations and their corresponding revolutionary movements” (p. 103). This existence of a role within the organizations is evidence that their participation is significant enough to be noticed by the greater community. In regard explicitly to female suicide bombers, Zedalis (2004) notes that “given the globalization of terror from nonstate actors, experts believe that suicide bombing, which will include female suicide bombers, will increase” (p. 13). This is specifically referencing female participation in terrorist organizations as suicide bombers, which is just one of the many roles of women within their respective organizations. Terrorist organizations are starting to take advantage of the fact that they are more likely to get past security forces using a female operative than a male operative; “terrorist leaders apparently have learned that if they deploy women--particularly as couriers and decoys, but also as suicide bombers--they can more easily evade security forces” (Cragin & Daly, 2009, p. 104-105). This is connected to the premise that women are not as likely as men to commit violent acts. However, history has demonstrated that female operatives are capable of committing violent acts. 2 Background of the Problem Society has a difficult time understanding what motivates women to commit violent acts, especially when those acts are carried out in a public manner and impact a large number of people. Female involvement in general criminal acts is not easy for society to understand. Moreover, it is even more difficult to comprehend the drive behind women’s involvement in terrorism in addition to understanding the premise of the organizations that employ them. It has been noted that “society seems more afraid of violent women than men, as if they were more threatening than men” (MacDonald, 1991, p. 238). This denial and fear of violent women complicates society’s acceptance of the notion of violent women. Consequently, this ingrained concept of women as the ‘fairer sex’ increases the difficulty in making law enforcement and national security officials aware of the danger posed by females involved in terrorist organizations. The term ‘terrorism’ was first coined during the French Revolution, the ‘Reign of Terror’, and has since evolved into the concept that is used during the 21st Century. The stereotypical terrorist has evolved from a lone assassin, to religious fanatics, to state- sponsored groups. In order to explain the vast array of terrorist events that have taken place, terrorist motivations are classified into a number of different categories. These categories are fluid in nature, which makes it difficult to place terrorist motivations into one category; they often overlap across a number of motivations. These categories include state-sponsored, religious, ethnic, and politically motivated terrorist acts (Spindlove & Simonsen, 2013). All acts of terrorism are,
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